Childminders with no teaching experience are being used for classroom supervision because of chronic staff shortages.

And school principals are increasingly stepping in at the last minute for routine teaching duties due to the lack of substitute teachers nationwide.

As staffing problems reach crisis levels in some schools, pupils are being "divided up" on an ad hoc basis, between different classrooms.

There is growing concern this will damage their long-term academic performance.

Learning support teachers are also being relied on to provide emergency cover.

It comes as hundreds of qualified teachers are foregoing Irish classrooms, to take up attractive job offers in schools across the Middle East. Educators with three years' experience can earn more than €5,000 a month tax-free, while compensation for accommodation and health insurance costs are also part of the deal.

Many packages across the Gulf also include return flights home.

Sources confirm that for a growing number of teachers, lucrative positions with primary and post-primary schools in locations such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, are viewed as an opportunity to save for a house deposit.

Peter Mullan, of the Irish National Teachers' Union (INTO), says pay inequality has also contributed to a crisis in teacher recruitment and retention.

The situation will not improve, he added, until the Government addresses a two-tier system, that sees recently qualified teachers earn less than their more experienced colleagues.

"We've reached the situation where people with no qualifications are being used for short-term vacancies, Mr Mullan said.

"These are people that the school would know in the locality and feel they can trust to take care of children.